First insight into microbial community composition in a phosphogypsum waste heap soil

The aim of this study was to investigate the soil microbial communities of a phosphogypsum waste heap. The soil microbial community structures can differ over time, as they are affected by the changing environmental conditions caused by a long-term exposure to different kinds of pollutions, like is the case of soil in the post-production waste area in Wiślinka (in the northern part of Poland) currently undergoing restoration. Our analyses indicated that the most abundant phyla were Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Actinobacteria, and generally such an abundance is common for most of the studied soils. The most dominant class were Alphaproteobacteria, with their participation in 33.46% of the total reads. Among this class, the most numbered order was Sphingomonadales, whereas among this order the Sphingomonadaceae family was the most abundant one. The Sphingomonadaceae family is currently in the center of interest of many researchers, due to the ability of some of its members to utilize a wide range of naturally occurring organic compounds and many types of environmental contaminants. This kind of knowledge about microbial populations can support efforts in bioremediation and can improve monitoring changes in the contaminated environments

Broadband dielectric studies in linseed oil: Supercriticality and the New Insight into Melting/Freezing Discontinuous Transition

The long-range supercritical changes of dielectric constant, resembling ones observed in the isotropic phase of rod-like liquid crystalline compounds, are evidenced on approaching liquid-solid discontinuous phase transition. The 'supercriticality' can be an additional factor for supporting the unique pro-health properties of linseed oil. It can also be significant for numerous technological applications. The report also reveals properties significant for melting/freezing discontinuous phase transition cognitive puzzle. Broadband dielectric spectroscopy studies revealed long-range premelting (heating from the solid phase) and post-freezing (cooling from the liquid phase) effects with critical-like parametrizations. They can be correlated with the 'grain model' for premelting and its development by the Lipovsky model. The evidence for the post-freezing effect, with the critical-like portrayal, may indicate a specific granular solidification associated with pretransitional fluctuations. Numerous hallmarks of liquid-liquid and solid-solid phase transitions have also been found. Notably, the melting temperature surrounding is related to the minimum and the freezing temperature to the maximum of dielectric loss factor D=tan(delta). Regarding dynamics, three primary relaxation processes have been found. Their changes in subsequent temperature intervals, related to the apparent activation enthalpy, follow critical-like patterns with the same singular temperature. For relaxation times evolution, it leads to optimal parameterizations via the 'critical and activated' equation, recently proposed.Comment: 14 Figures , 15 equation

Effective inhibition of lytic development of bacteriophages λ, P1 and T4 by starvation of their host, Escherichia coli

BACKGROUND: Bacteriophage infections of bacterial cultures cause serious problems in genetic engineering and biotechnology. They are dangerous not only because of direct effects on the currently infected cultures, i.e. their devastation, but also due to a high probability of spreading the phage progeny throughout a whole laboratory or plant, which causes a real danger for further cultivations. Therefore, a simple method for quick inhibition of phage development after detection of bacterial culture infection should be very useful. RESULTS: Here, we demonstrate that depletion of a carbon source from the culture medium, which provokes starvation of bacterial cells, results in rapid inhibition of lytic development of three Escherichia coli phages, λ, P1 and T4. Since the effect was similar for three different phages, it seems that it may be a general phenomenon. Moreover, similar effects were observed in flask cultures and in chemostats. CONCLUSION: Bacteriophage lytic development can be inhibited efficiently by carbon source limitation in bacterial cultures. Thus, if bacteriophage contamination is detected, starvation procedures may be recommended to alleviate deleterious effects of phage infection on the culture. We believe that this strategy, in combination with the use of automated and sensitive bacteriophage biosensors, may be employed in the fermentation laboratory practice to control phage outbreaks in bioprocesses more effectively

Continuous Isotropic-Nematic transition in compressed rod-like based nanocolloid

Landau - de Gennes mean field model predicts the discontinuous transition for the Isotropic - Nematic transition, associated with uniaxial and quadrupolar order parameter in three dimensions. This report shows pressure-related dielectric studies for rod-like nematogenic pentylcyanobiphenyl (5CB) and its nanocolloids with BaTiO3 nanoparticles. The scan of dielectric constant revealed the continuous I-N transition in a compressed nanocolloid with a tiny amount of nanoparticles (x=0.1%). For the nematic phase in 5CB and its x=1% nanocolloid the enormous values of dielectric constant and the bending-type long-range pretransitional behavior were detected. The 'shaping' influence of pretransitional fluctuations was also detected for the ionic-related contribution to dielectric permittivity in the isotropic phase. For the high-frequency relaxation domain, this impact was tested for the primary relaxation time and the translational-orientaional decoupling.Comment: 28 pages, 7 figure

Przyczyny dekompensacji cukrzycy pod postacią cukrzycowej kwasicy ketonowej u pacjentów hospitalizowanych w Klinice Chorób Wewnętrznych i Diabetologii CSK UM w Łodzi

Wstęp: Cukrzycowa kwasica ketonowa (DKA) może być ostrym powikłaniem każdego typu cukrzycy, ale najczęściej występuje w przebiegu cukrzycy typu 1. Przy znacznym niedoborze lub braku insuliny w celu produkcji energii dochodzi do spalania tłuszczów zamiast glukozy, co prowadzi do nadmiernej produkcji ciał ketonowych wywołujących kwasicę metaboliczną. Główne cele badania obejmowały ocenę bezpośrednich przyczyn DKA oraz wyłonienie spośród hospitalizowanych pacjentów grupy ryzyka cechującej się większymi predyspozycjami do rozwoju DKA, tak by w przyszłości móc odpowiednio dobrać metody i zakres edukacji chorych. Materiał i metody: W niniejszej pracy dokonano retrospektywnej analizy 120 przypadków dorosłych pacjentów hospitalizowanych z powodu DKA w KliniceChorób Wewnętrznych i Diabetologii CSK UM w Łodzi w latach 2014–2017. Wyniki: W przeważającej liczuybie przypadków do wystąpienia DKA przyczyniło się nadużywanie alkoholu (39%). Nie można jednak pominąć innych przyczyn będących czynnikami ryzyka zwiększającymi częstość hospitalizacji z powodu DKA, jak na przykład: infekcja (22,2%), zaburzenia psychiczne (3,7%), brak przestrzegania zaleceń lekarskich (compliance; 3,7%); prowadzą one do zaprzestania podawania lub substytucji nieadekwatnej ilości insuliny w stosunku do zapotrzebowania, co w następstwie może doprowadzić do rozwoju DKA. Wnioski: Bez względu na typ cukrzycy, sposób leczenia, czas trwania cukrzycy oraz wiek pacjentów, przy braku higienicznego trybu życia oraz odpowiedniej edukacji chorych w zakresie insulinoterapii oraz postępowania w sytuacjach szczególnych, tj. w przypadku infekcji, DKA będzie nadal częstym powikłaniem cukrzycy, zwiększającym częstość hospitalizacji. Dlatego bardzo ważną i nadal niedocenianą metodą profilaktyki wystąpienia DKA jest edukacja zarówno lekarzy, jak i pacjentów

Analysis of serum protein fractions from women with recurrent miscarriage

Recurrent miscarriage occurs in 1 - 5 % of women at reproductive age. The most common cause of recurrent miscarriage is chromosomal abnormalities of the embryo (41%), chromosomal aberrations parents (10%), anatomical abnormalities of the uterus (5%), infectious and hormonal factors. In about 25% of women, no cause of recurrent miscarriage is usually found. Therefore it seems important to study all factors possibly inducing pregnancy disorders. Objective: The aim of this study was to find a difference in serum protein fractions between women with primary and secondary recurrent miscarriage. Methods: The study group consisted of 52 women (aged 36.0±4.9) with recurrent miscarriage. Nine of them (17%) reported one earlier regular pregnancy ending with childbirth without complications. Control group comprised 30 non-pregnant women (aged 36.1±3.6), who had given vaginal birth to healthy children at least twice. Serum protein fractions were separated by electrophoresis in the SDS PAGE buffer system using a Mini PROTEAN 3 cell device. BioRad SDS PAGE Molecular Weight Standards covering mass range of 6.5-200 kDa were used as a reference. Gels were stained with Coomassie Blue R 250 solution. BioRad QuantityOne software was used for the assessment of molecular weight of each protein fraction. Results: Electrophoretic separation revealed 39 protein fractions of 10 243 kDa. Particularly interesting was a 38 kDa fraction present exclusively in serum of women with recurrent pregnancy, who had never given birth. Another fraction (74 kDa), not detected in the control group, was found in all women with recurrent pregnancy loss. Protein fractions of 76 and 151 kDa were present only in the control group. Conclusions: The presence of the protein fractions of low- or mid-weight in serum from women with recurrent miscarriage may potentially play a role in the pathomechanism of this disorder

A role for accessory genes rI.-1 and rI.1 in the regulation of lysis inhibition by bacteriophage T4

Lysis inhibition (LIN) is a known feature of the T-even family of bacteriophages. Despite its historical role in the development of modern molecular genetics, many aspects of this phenomenon remain mostly unexplained. The key element of LIN is an interaction between two phage-encoded proteins, the T holin and the RI antiholin. This interaction is stabilized by RIII. In this report, we demonstrate the results of genetic experiments which suggest a synergistic action of two accessory proteins of bacteriophage T4, RI.-1, and RI.1 with RIII in the regulation of LIN

Influence of the Escherichia coli oxyR gene function on λ prophage maintenance

In Escherichia coli hosts, hydrogen peroxide is one of the factors that may cause induction of λ prophage. Here, we demonstrate that H2O2-mediated λ prophage induction is significantly enhanced in the oxyR mutant host. The mRNA levels for cI gene expression were increased in a λ lysogen in the presence of H2O2. On the other hand, stimulation of the pM promoter by cI857 overproduced from a multicopy plasmid was decreased in the ΔoxyR mutant in the presence of H2O2 but not under normal growth conditions. The purified OxyR protein did bind specifically to the pM promoter region. This binding impaired efficiency of interaction of the cI protein with the OR3 site, while stimulating such a binding to OR2 and OR1 sites, in the regulatory region of the pM promoter. We propose that changes in cI gene expression, perhaps in combination with moderately induced SOS response, may be responsible for enhanced λ prophage induction by hydrogen peroxide in the oxyR mutant. Therefore, OxyR seems to be a factor stimulating λ prophage maintenance under conditions of oxidative stress. This proposal is discussed in the light of efficiency of induction of lambdoid prophages bearing genes coding for Shiga toxins

Państwo, gospodarka, społeczeństwo w integrującej się Europie TOM 1

Ze wstępu: "III Międzynarodowa Konferencja Naukowa, jaką w pierwszych dniach czerwca 2003 roku zorganizowała Krakowska Szkoła Wyższa, poświęcona była uczczeniu wyjątkowego jubileuszu 500-lecia urodzin jej patrona - Andrzeja Frycza Modrzewskiego. Jednak to nie myśl polityczna tego wielkiego Polaka i reformatora stała się wiodącym tematem konferencji. W centrum zainteresowań znalazły się zagadnienia 0 wiele bardziej aktualne, dotyczące bowiem integracji europejskiej. Problematyka tym bardziej żywotna, gdyż dotykająca bieżącego życia politycznego - zwłaszcza w kontekście referendum akcesyjnego, które odbyło się w równy tydzień po konferencji. Tak więc jej uczestnicy mieli doskonałą okazję do podjęcia interesujących rozważań związanych z perspektywą rozwoju państwa, gospodarki i społeczeństwa w warunkach integracji europejskiej."(...